If you were born after 1979 (that's the year I was born) then chances are you have had a smartphone, the Internet, numerous gaming machines and now a SLEW of other "in your face" technologies for the majority of your adult life.
It turns out that all of the things that have positioned to make life better for us, in many ways, are making getting things done that are IMPORTANT but not sexy, quite literally, feel like a LIVING HELL.
Think, doing your book keeping, reading that new book on copy writing or sitting down to analyze why last months campaigns crapped the bed...
None seems as enticing as letting and dozens of IG reels pop into your face or diving down the YouTube hole DEEP.
It all Starts with DOPAMINE
So most of you know what this brain chemical does, it is what helps us CRAVE things.
The good and the bad.
We get hits from social media, checking our phone and even eating junk food.
In and of itself, dopamine isn't an issue.
The issue is that we are so programmed to expect such a LARGE amount of it day in and day out, most of us have a HARD time breaking the habits of scrolling social, checking our devices or binge eating junk food late at night while we have our laptop opens PRETENDING we're getting something constructive done.
Why it's hurting your Business
So it turns out that most of the things we have to do in order to have a successful business are not all that exciting.
YES, the idea generation, planning and day dreaming about when you'll be wealthy and don't have to work any more are pleasurable, but the actual DOING of the plan....
Not So Much.
So, this means while you probably have no issue with knowledge, smarts or skill you can't seem to get out of your own way to buckle down and do long spans of hard work that will propel your plan/dream into reality.
If this sounds like you, then you need to make some changes pronto, if you want to achieve the results and success your dream, journal or talk about.
ADHD, Wantrepreneur and the like
It's been common place to talk about how many online entreprenurs are more wantrepreneurs.
They have the ambition, but they NEVER real the realization of their dream.
ADHD is also a common place word amongst those of us in the digital ad buying, affiliate marketing or freelancer space.
So many of us joke about our ADD/ADHD tendencies, it falls on deaf ears to those of us on the inside.
While I am not suggesting that ADD/ADHD isn't a true condition that many folks, including many people close to me, need help with, I don't believe the condition is as rampant as the physiological and medical community would lead us to believe.
Rather, I think MUCH of this is rooted in dopamine and high dopamine level activities that are so easily accessed to us with our smart phones, tablets, laptops and streaming devices at home.
So what do we do.
Dopamine Detox Here I Come
You may have heard of this concept, a dopamine detox.
The idea is to abstain for a day from ALL activities that flood your brain with dopamine.
Much easier said then done, but I believe this can have magnificent benefits to your business and life (mine too).
The concept here is that you lay off of all activities you use that fall into the high dopamine activity definition.
Think video games, social media, phone use, internet use, drinking or junk food...
There's a long list here and it will be different for each person, but the point here is to induce BOREDOM for a day... and if you can handle it a day per week to start.
We need to calm our dopamine receptors in our brain down.
We need to settle the kettle, simmer down and chill out our brains high dopamine level needs and expectations.
This won't be easy.
It will feel hard, and in most cases we will say to ourselves "what the hell is the point of all this..."
But we have to look at the bigger picture of what it is we want for our life...
What goals do we have.
What Do You Dream Your Life Looking Like?
If you're 25 or 35 and want to build a million dollar business, then guess what, pitter patter it's time to get at er...
Time waits for no one and it is going to be about 10X harder and take 2-5X longer than you think it will to reach your goal.
Do you really want to look back when you're 45 or 55 and think "DAMMIT, I didn't hit my goal, I didn't get there, if I only I didn't spend so much time on TikTok and playing sending GIFS to my friends on WhatsApp".
You don't want to be that person...
And this is the bigger reason of this post.
We have to know what we want, and probably if you're reading this it's a certain number of clients, or affiliate commissions or profit.
We have to make a plan that we believe will get us there (the initial plan probably won't but we have to put the work in to discover that).
Do the work.
And then rinse-wash-repeat.
It takes A LOT of low dopamine level activities to become a successful media buyer, agency owner, copy writer, affiliate marketer, but you can do it.
Anyone can.
It's not a thing you're born with, the ability to be an amazing copy writer or YouTube / TikTok ad media buyer... we learn these skills.
The same as we can learn to retrain our brain to settle down on the craving for low value / high dopamine activities.
So consider this.
Ponder it... how are you affected daily by checking your phone, scrolling social, browsing YouTube, playing video games or ingesting crap food or drink....
Is it worth letting those decisions siderail your vision of your life?
I bet it's not.
